In a traditional mobile telecommunication network, mobile stations (e.g., mobile phones) communicate via an air link with a stationary base transceiver station (BTS), typically a tower or other structure with one or more antennas and associated radio transceivers. A traditional BTS typically relays data between mobile stations and the core mobile network via a dedicated communication link to a base station controller (BSC). However, smaller base transceiver stations have been developed, e.g., for personal use in the home, dedicated use by a small business or other enterprise, dedicated or additional coverage for areas with high user density or demand (such as airports), etc. Such smaller base transceiver stations are sometimes referred to herein and in the industry by a variety of terms, depending on their size and configuration, including without limitation by terms such as “micro-BTS”, “pico-BTS”, and “femto-BTS”, which terms distinguish such smaller scale installations from a traditional “BTS”, which is sometimes referred to as a “macro-BTS” deployed to serve an associated “macro-cell”. Deployment of such smaller base transceiver stations poses challenges to mobile telecommunications network operators and equipment providers, including the need to know that a deployed small scale BTS has not been moved without authorization to a location in which the small scale BTS is not authorized to operate.
In addition, certain regulatory and/or service requirements, such as emergency 911 (E911) regulations that require mobile telecommunications providers to be able to provide to authorities the location from which a call from a mobile phone is being and/or was made, require that the location of the base station be known.
Therefore, there is a need for a way for a mobile network and/or service provider to determine the geographic location of a small scale or otherwise potentially movable base station or other network equipment.